I see many people using Sterling, but I never see any callouts of performance or qualities of the products. When I see a SOTD or review of other soaps it often includes the great experience with it.
So can I get some Sterling thoughts? What do you compare it to? They certainly have all the scents covered.

Help me understand what aggressiveness of a blade means? Preferably with a clear definition. I am completely new to DE shaving, and as I see it, the sharper blade the better to avoid pulling and tearing. For example the Feather blade should be the most aggressive blade because of its sharpness according to my research.

Thank you!

Had to go pick it up this morning because I missed the mail man Monday, but I am excited for my next shave.

After much thought I finally decided to pickup a Monster Slant which I will use next. With it I had to pick up Phoenix Lights, which immediately took my number 14 spot for my favorite by PAA such a fantastic scent, the citrus and grapefruit works well with the slight oakmoss and tobacco scent I pickup from the smell, with a great woody note that aids the musk scent making a fantastic aroma. Finally as I have been using my IceTube I finally picked up a Cube as well something that will become a staple for a pre-shave much like my IceTube, of course it is mentholated.

Razor: Henson Aluminum + Blade: Personna Platinum Brush: "Fievel" Chisel And Hound boar 26mm Soap: Stirling Coniferous Pre: Hot shower Post: Brut splash, Nivea post shave balm

Fievel's adventures begin! I lathered up the brush with some Stirling Coniferous and left it overnight to hopefully soften the bristles a bit. It worked! I overloaded like a mofo to be sure that the brush wouldn't eat the soap between passes and that also worked! Lots of stuff working and it makes me randy, baby! Yeah!

These are all keepers. I have another box of non-favs and surplus. I’d enjoy glimpsing others’ dens.

Sharing my shave for today. So far I’ve had 7 shaves with this setup. Still improving my technique, I need to invest in an alum block for the occasional bites, but patience and practice makes perfect.

Razor: Gillette Slim 1964 Blade: Astra SP Green Cream: Proraso Green Brush: Proraso Boar (Omega) After: Proraso Green Vessel: Porcelain Catch-All (would not recommend) Soundtrack: Ellington Indigos by Duke Ellington

I made the mistake of trying other brands. I seem to have my best shaves with Gillette Nacet blades and I’ve been using them for a couple years now. I bought these two packs to try something new. My face doesn’t seem to agree with these blades. There’s about 85 blades left in the shark pack, and about 70 blades left in the astra. Let me know! I’ll ship them to you cheap.

Gentlemen, I think there’s no other razor that can compete with the smoothness and efficiency for me and my skin. This SS is definitely my desert island razor. The Kai only helped with the efficiency of the shave and plowed through 2 days of growth with ease. After a long 12 hour shift at work I would like to just relax and not worry about cutting up my face when I shave. This razor definitely allows me to relax a little bit but still deliver amazing results. I originally bought this razor to commemorate my parents’ birth year and something to continue to remember them by when they are long gone. I never thought it would be my favorite to own out of the bunch as well.

NO rawr is the bees knees. Smells like fresh cut grass but with a hint of floral scent as well. Very subtle. I like the art of NO and it lathers to a whip cream consistency with very little work.

• Gillette Super Speed X2
• Kai
• Rubberset 400 with Timberwolf knot
• Noble Otter Rawr
• Alum block/Thayers toner
• CeraVe facial moisturizer/Nivea aftershave balm

Up until today, I've only tried Proraso green and red creams, but my order of MacDuff soap samples arrived today. I ordered Alberta Boys, Market Days, Canadian Tuxedo, Wild Rose Country, and Worst Cabin Ever. A quick sniff test made me immediately gravitate towards Alberta Boys. The product description on their website is as follows:

Notes: Black Cherry, Limoncello, Bitter Almond Liqueur, Plum, Turkish Rose, Jasmine Sambac, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Cedar Blend, Vetiver, Patchouli, Oud, Tobacco Leaf, Cardamom, Rosewood.

Now I am no scent expert and am not qualified to go into detail on everything I could smell, but I can say it is such a pleasant scent, rich and complex, and makes you want to open the container for one last sniff. However, what was even better than the scent was the lather! A tiny fingernail's worth of soap spread out on the bottom of my shave mug easily made enough smooth and silky lather for my usual 2-pass shave, and even more besides. I could also definitely feel the easier razor glide over my skin. I look forward to trying out the other samples, and choosing my favorites for full-size containers.

So i just finished my third shave with the Rockwell 6S. I've been using Personna chrome platinum blades in the razor and I'm torn between plate 4 and 5. Both give me BBS. 4 I think is more comfortable...HOWEVER, on my first pass with the grain, it wasn't cutting all the hairs and sometimes I would have to press with the razor to get them to cut. 5 shaves normal but I can feel the blade a little. Unfortunately I've been nicked by both plates. Plate 4 however was nicking me on a mole. Plate 5 did not, but gave me a few small nicks.

I dont know which one to use.

The vintage Gillette did not disappoint .I was surprised at how close it was with just one pass and no nics.First time using Stirlings Coniferous and it had me in the trees.Pine ,cedar and a touch of that fall woods smell wafted around my bathroom while i was lathering .This was a great shave.

So my new Rocca was delivered this morning and I was very keen to try it out. First thoughts were that it looks very stylish especially with the birch handle. Being my first SS razor, I expected it to weigh quite a bit but it just felt good in the hand.

I loaded it up with an Astra SP as I thought I’d play it safe with a moderately mild blade that I know well. Lathered up with cella and off I went on 4 days growth.

3 pass shave, very smooth and zero nicks. Prior to this razor, the closest shave I could get was with my piccolo, the Rocca was equally as close but a lot more comfortable. Zero feedback from the alum.

Very happy with my purchase and can see what the hype was about. This razor may dethrone my current favourite, the 37c.

Next steps are to try different blades as I’ve read that this razor can be finicky regarding blade choice.

First ever vintage razor shave and first ever safety razor shave in general! I really liked it. Nice and quick for a weekday shave then back to my straight for the weekend. I’m only 15 minutes post- but my face feels pretty comfortable overall.

Razor Emporium preshave bar

Gem Micromatic 1912 + Gem blade

Martin De Candre original

Simpson Chubby 2 Platinum Synthetic brush

Razor Emporium 1977 aftershave balm

Some have the Gillette Toggle or Bottom Dial as their holy grail of safety razors. I love my Gillette Adjustables, but my first true crush on a razor was the French’s Gibbs line of adjustable razors. Their simplicity and originality exudes mid-century modernity, of the utilitarian European kind. However, with their proprietary blades, I was always hesitant to purchase, only to have to either go through the task of snipping/punching my blades or, worse, permanently modifying the razor to allow universality…

Enter the Personna Micrometric. I came across this elusive razor when first discovering the Gibbs and was instantly gobsmacked. It was a Gibbs but wasn’t a Gibbs all at the same time: it was gold where the Gibbs was chrome, it was white where the Gibbs was black, and, conveniently, it took all blades when the Gibbs took only one!

I began down the rabbit hole only to find very little on this thing, regarding its history or, much less, any for sale. It really is remarkable how little was documented over its inception in the early 50s. And from what I’ve gathered, not many were made…

I’ve always been one not to get carried away on shaving purchases, but the opportunity, and a beautifully complete one at that, presented itself, and I sat on my hands long enough before knowing I’d regret not pulling the trigger. Let’s just say, I’ve received my birthday, Father’s Day, and Christmas gifts this year. The collection is complete.

One pass, very comfortable and efficient. Now the shave den will be out of bounds to me for a few days while we have house guests; the shave den is also the guest bathroom 😢 But let’s face it, that a privileged problem to have so it’s a case of ‘suck it up cupcake.’

SOTD: 09/04/2025

Razor: Alpha Shaving Works Outlaw Evolution Titanium Blade: My-Blades Platinum, 2nd use Brush: The Razor Company Cherry Royale Preshave: Stirling Soap Company Ozark Mountain Oil Soap: Stirling Soap Company Ozark Mountain Croap Balm: Stirling Soap Company Ozark Mountain Lotion Fragrance: Stirling Soap Company Ozark Mountain EdC

• Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

What do y’all think about the Henson razors? I stared off with your run of the mill double edge. And I hated the havoc wreaked upon my sensitive skin. Being a machinist, I had to get one when I saw an ad about how they were designed by machinists to address the fundamental flaws in design of other razors by applying geometry and tolerances using fundamental aspects of metal cutting theory. Check out their youtube or website for a full explanation. Imo, they don’t even compare to other razors. I can’t keep my girlfriend away from mine. The price is high but you will never need (or want) to buy another razor.

I am getting into leatherwork and I needed to thin a piece of leather. I didn’t have the right tools so I grabbed my Henson and it worked great. Try that with your razor.

(I use feather and nacet blades)

(I am not affiliated with Henson in any way, just love a good shave and I share a passion with the company about innovative design and manufacturing)

Thank you to the folks on this group that gave me recommendations on cleaning up this vintage Gillette .Thought i would post before and after.Later comes the real test.

I used to get terrible razor burn and ingrown hairs from cartridge razors. No matter how careful I was or how much I spent on the “fancy” multi-blade stuff, my skin would be on fire afterward and I’d end up with tons of ingrown hairs.

Then I found this sub.

All the discussion, advice, and shared experiences here really made the decision to switch easier. It confirmed what I’d already started to suspect, cartridge razors weren’t doing me any favors. So I made the switch to a safety razor, and honestly, I haven’t looked back since.

My shaves are smoother, my skin is happier, and best of all, I actually enjoy the process now. It’s kind of therapeutic.

So huge thanks to everyone here for sharing your tips, routines, and gear recommendations. Your collective knowledge seriously made a difference for me. Thanks!!!!

Just got this razor blade sampler in the mail. I’ve tried the Derby and both Astras that come in this sampler. Astras work alright, but not perfect.

Fairy Antlers combo by Terry’s Soaps LaFaulx by Atelier Durdan Brush by Moon Soaps Korean sesame bowl from Terry’s

Tabac soap, AS, beard wax, and cologne

JR 159 Brush

Rockwell 6S

I am a head only shaver. My beard is Z.Z -Santa and no blade will shorten it!

Years of nothing but cartridges- electrics but want to switch to a Safety Razor as soon as I finish the Harry's supply on hand. I sort of fear what that will be like, just afraid of shredding my scalp and a trio to Urgent Care. No irritation, bumps or anything. Just warm water, put on the Barbasol and shave. Never more than one pass.

I am obsessed at getting the Charles Barkley-Michael Jordan smooth look. Almost bought a Braun 9 on sale at Costco last month because I saw The Rock supposedly uses it on his head. It was sold out. A few days later I reasoned things out and after binge watching "Ohio Shaves" on YT am here now.

Mild but effective first razors for head shaving? I'm well aware of The Leaf).

Thanks. B.J. (Indiana)

RAZOR ACQUISITION ORDER: CURED

SOTD to follow…